this post was submitted on 13 Jun 2023
253 points (100.0% liked)
Technology
1928 readers
7 users here now
Rumors, happenings, and innovations in the technology sphere. If it's technological news, it probably belongs here.
Subcommunities on Beehaw:
This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Relay for android gave in to Reddit's demands ... thoughts?
I think this is a bad sign for everyone protesting the changes... a major app giving in makes the rest of the apps look bad for complaining imo https://www.androidpolice.com/popular-android-reddit-app-may-survive-absurd-api-pricing/
The relay creator did the math and came to the conclusion that an subscription model might maybe work but it would be to tight. It reads as the person is saying that it is unfeasonable.
Even if the apps would comply;
And ohw yeah you are gonna get less content for your subscription. It is all in bad faith.
I think that a forced paid subscription will probably kill it anyway long term, who in their right mind would pay a subscription to access Reddit?
Also don't forget that thes app owners themselves are running a business and probably make a bunch of money from their apps that they don't want to see evaporate with the changes.
Another good point he made is about how he's calculating this. He's projecting current usage into the sub model.
But he's probably very right that casuals will probably leave and power users will probably pay. So it's the Spotify problem, your power users use you more costing you more but they don't pay more so you start going in the red. Considering relay is not a VC backed app or anything like that. One miscalculation and one bad month and you could see thousands of dollars in surprise costs.
Edit: the Android app for Lemmy is having problems at the moment and comments are being weird.
The Internet was supposed to be better, but it turned into another set of monthly bills. And caving in to Reddit's gouging sets a dangerous precedent, because it normalizes the smearing of devs that brought us here.
We kinda proved we can manufacture scarcity even where there is none.
We are literally slashing unsold sneakers before throwing them in a landfill, criminalizing dumpster diving and handouts of expiring food.
I didn't know api changes means 3rd party apps no longer can show nsfw content. Nobody's going to pay a subscription and not be able to see stuff that they can see on the official app. Looks like reddit is giving all 3rd party app developers a shitty deal whichever way you cut it.
I don't know how to feel about this, that's the app I use and was mad about losing... I already bought the paid version a long time ago but now it's moving to a subscription model so I guess that doesn't count anymore...
I just had a Rollercoaster of emotions. I was sad and angry to see relay go be sure it's been with me for idk how long (more than 10 years? Has it been that long?). But then losing relay would severely cut my reddit time and lemmy being a lot smaller meant that I could potentially kick this habit. So was kind of excited.
Then I read your message that relay is not going and I'm like "fuck! My addiction will never be cured!" Then saw its a subscription model and now I'm really conflicted.
I can't blame him if he wants his app to survive. I used the pro version for years and would happily payed the planed subscription. But because the vast majority, if not all of the money goes to Reddit I just can't bring myself to do it. I hope his calculations are correct and if they are not, I hope he doesn't falls into dept.
I can't blame the 3P Devs for dealing with this situation as they see fit. It feels like shooting the messenger ...
Boo.